Currently 4 active game design grants, fellowships and residencies open to applicants in Switzerland. Hand-curated and updated weekly. Almost every entry is funded; a few notable unpaid open calls and festival submissions are included as clearly flagged exceptions. Browse the list below, or use the interactive desk for filtering and shortlisting.
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Pro Helvetia's Game Design Emerging Talents pre-production grant supports early-career game designers in developing playable prototypes for digital games. Emerging Talents are game developers or studios whose game-design education or company foundation dates back less than seven years. ELIGIBILITY: requires a connection to Switzerland (Swiss citizenship, or permanent residency with regular artistic activity in Switzerland); not open to practitioners without a Swiss connection. At least 50 percent of participants must be Swiss citizens or permanent residents whose place of work is in Switzerland. AMOUNT: up to CHF 20,000, plus possible additional coaching. Deadlines twice a year: 1 March (23:59 CET) and 1 September (23:59 CEST). Apply via the Pro Helvetia portal.
Pro Helvetia's Game Design Emerging Talents production grant funds the production of digital games based on advanced prototypes or vertical slices. Emerging Talents are studios whose game-design education or company foundation dates back less than seven years. Applicants must be legal entities (sole proprietorships accepted if willing to convert). ELIGIBILITY: requires a connection to Switzerland (Swiss citizenship, or permanent residency with regular artistic activity in Switzerland); not open to practitioners without a Swiss connection. At least 50 percent of participants must be Swiss citizens or permanent residents whose place of work is in Switzerland. AMOUNT: up to CHF 50,000, requiring a matching grant of equal value from own or third-party funding. Deadlines twice a year: 1 March (23:59 CET) and 1 September (23:59 CEST). Apply via the Pro Helvetia portal.
Pro Helvetia's Game Design Emerging Talents post-production grant funds the dissemination and marketing of advanced game-design projects. Emerging Talents are studios whose game-design education or company foundation dates back less than seven years. Applicants must be legal entities (sole proprietorships accepted if willing to convert). ELIGIBILITY: requires a connection to Switzerland (Swiss citizenship, or permanent residency with regular artistic activity in Switzerland); not open to practitioners without a Swiss connection. At least 50 percent of participants must be Swiss citizens or permanent residents whose place of work is in Switzerland. AMOUNT: up to CHF 20,000, plus potential individual coaching. Deadlines twice a year: 1 March (23:59 CET) and 1 September (23:59 CEST). Apply via the Pro Helvetia portal.
She Got Game is a Pro Helvetia mentoring programme promoting equal opportunities for women in the Swiss and international game industry, supporting the representation of women in management positions through dialogue with experienced international experts. This is the variant for professional game designers FROM Switzerland who identify as women (a separate variant exists for practitioners in the liaison-office regions). Emerging Talents are developers or studios whose relevant training or registration dates back less than seven years. ELIGIBILITY: requires a connection to Switzerland (Swiss citizenship, or permanent residency with regular artistic activity in Switzerland); not open to practitioners without a Swiss connection. WHAT IS OFFERED: individual coaching on project development, business strategy, finances, marketing, PR, and pitch training; a growing community of female game developers; potential access to international trade fairs; CHF 3,000 toward a prototype or demo; and up to CHF 250 per week toward childcare or children's travel when attending trade fairs. Roughly 30 hours over six months. Submission deadline 1 September 2026 (23:59 CEST); notification November 2026. Apply via the Pro Helvetia portal.